Learn More About Florida's Child Abduction Prevention Act

April 30, 2011

Learn More About Florida's Child Abduction Prevention Act

Florida's landmark Child Abduction Prevention Act (CAPA) was signed into law in January of this year. It is designed to give courts more power to act upon suspicions that a parent embroiled in a child custody dispute might attempt to take the child and flee to another state or country.

The law was authored and championed not by a lawmaker but by a Florida mom, Carolyn Vlk. She found herself in the unenviable position of a hotly contested divorce and feared that her husband -- a native of the Czech Republic -- would attempt to return to his home country, taking the couple's young son with him.

After attempting to make sense of Florida's existing laws governing international child abduction -- based loosely upon criteria established by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws' Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act but not as powerful -- she began a years-long crusade to get the statutes changed. Her efforts resulted in a comprehensive law that clearly sets forth parameters that are easy for judges, parents and family law attorneys to understand.

The new law is incorporated into the current statute governing child abductions, Florida Statute ? 61.45. It gives family court judges the ability to consider a number of warning signs that a parent might attempt to flee the jurisdiction to avoid losing custody, including:

-Obtaining passports for him/herself and the child
-Closing bank accounts or withdrawing large amounts of money
-Purchasing plane tickets, especially one-way tickets
-Having increased contact with family members still in the parent's home state or country

Upon observing these and other indicators, a judge has the authority to enact emergency measures to prevent the child from being taken from Florida.

If you fear that your child will be taken out of the state by a spouse or other family member, contact an experienced family law attorney in your area as soon as possible to learn more about steps you can take.

Article provided by The Lasky Law Firm
Visit us at www.laskylawfirm.com